Kirk Sigler

Now, there are some exceptions, of course, in the West, but everyone is really worried about the Colorado River Basin.

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation is now predicting that the water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead along the river may drop so low that the turbines at the dams are going to stop even being able to produce power like later this year.

It's called Deadpool.

It's a very grim term, but apt.

Totally.

I mean, the Colorado River alone supplies drinking water to like 40 million people, also countless farms that grow all the produce we eat, especially in the winter in the Imperial Valley of California.

And up here where I am in the Pacific Northwest, we get a lot of our power from hydro, and so low river flows are very concerning along the Columbia River.

But I think the possibility of a smoky summer is pretty tops on everyone's minds.

I was on a reporting trip up in Montana this past week, and I met Andy Liedberg,

who owns a brewery next to the Big Sky Ski Resort.

It's been a tough winter for the ski industry, and Liedberg told me they're facing some tough economic headwinds now going into spring, like low rivers mean not much whitewater rafting or fishing and the likelihood of a lot of wildfire smoke.

So, Aisha, the winter that wasn't, as we're all calling it out here, is now causing a lot of concerns for what's coming ahead in spring and summer.

You're welcome.

March is typically the snowiest month of the year in Colorado, but this year the state is reporting its lowest snow totals on record.

The Cascades in Oregon and Washington are in a similar dire state.

According to new data from NOAA's Drought Monitor, in California, warm temperatures have already caused rapid snowmelt and an early spring runoff.

Every single river basin in the West has experienced its warmest or second warmest winter on record.

Snow is the West's primary water storage, and tens of millions of people rely on it for drinking water, food, and power.

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation now predicts the water level in Lake Powell may drop so low that the Glen Canyon Dam will cease producing power by December.

Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Bozeman, Montana.